Scarlet Contract
by Jessaminebell
Summary: There has only ever been one soul Sebastian Michaelis has lost. Only one individual has ever eluded the fate that came with their contract with this charismatic devil. But at what cost?
1. Chapter 1

"A light chocolate custard accompanies this afternoon's tea, my lord. It's quite an interesting brew. Dark Red Roselle tea. It's a commonly sold beverage in Sahel, Africa. Lau recommended it to me, so I pray it's to your liking." Only a slight tap was heard as the able butler placed a plate before his Earl. The faint waving of red-tinted steam wafting from the Roselle tea captivated his orange eyes only for a moment before his attention turned back to the young master. A smirk immediately touched his lips at the indifferent face of the boy.

"Is something the matter, My lord?" He asked with just a small amount of mirth. Whatever was on this boy's mind was always entertaining. At least for the butler, it was.

"Nothing of the sort." Ciel Phantomhive raised his cup to his lips. "If anything, I would assume something to be worrisome to you. Do you have something on your mind, Sebastian?" He asked from behind the lifted pottery.  
A rather curious stare came to Sebastian's eyes. He tilted his head ever so slightly to question his master.

"Whatever would give you that idea, My lord?" He grabbed the warm kettle to refill the cup of tea his master had drained. The dark rose liquid poured back into the cup at the Earl's careful watch.

"When you looked to this tea, you had a strange look on your face. Have you served it before?" The young boy had never tasted a drop of this obviously medicinal herb before today, but the butler spoke as though he was well acquainted with the fragrant healer. Though, Ciel knew, he was like that with most everything.

Sebastian put on a rather knowing smile. He closed the kettle before placing the piece back to the silver tray.

"Why, yes, I have. Many years ago, My Lord. That is a whole other life, I'm afraid. Such old stories would only bore you." His careful lifting placed the silver tray back to the cart he had silently pushed into the study so many minutes ago. Only the slight squeaking of the wheels had been able to cut into the silence of the room.

"Quite the contrary." Ciel set his cup to the saucer before letting a smirk touch his lips.  
"I'm interested in who held you as a dog before me. It would be a nice story to hear over tea." His icy blue eyes locked with his still-smiling butler. Sebastian kept his distance as the smirk was transferred to his lips as well.

"I'd have to say My Lord, you're mistaken about who was who's dog in that contract. I cannot remember a single time when a word of selfish desire fell from their lips. However, I'm afraid I'm not inclined to speak anymore of past contracts. Patient-demon confidentiality, if you will." His white gloves wrapped around the handle of the cart. A slight push swerved it towards the door, only to be stopped by the boy's voice.

"Really? I can't imagine what a spineless wimp wouldn't take advantage of the contract's rules. What type of person was he?" The young boy ignored the warning words of concealment spoken by Sebastian.

The butler gave a small sigh before dropping the handle of the cart. He turned back to his master with a new-found smile to his face.

"Not a man, My Lord. It was a woman. Not only that, a girl. She wasn't much older than you, and she was in a similar situation to yours." He could remember that girl almost as though she was standing right in front of him. Though, he supposed, she wouldn't be standing by herself. Perhaps a crutch would be at her side, or even the butler himself supporting her right side.

Long brown hair would stretch far down to her waist, hair that she refused to put into a braid or even a simple up-do. Blonde highlights often touched that hair in the summer, only to disappear in the dead of winter when the sun didn't touch her light and soft skin. Green eyes stared at the butler in silent suspicion and sometimes fear. Perhaps by the end of their journey, just a bit of admiration touched the silky evergreen pupils as she looked to his figure. The butler did not truly know, nor did he think he would ever figure out. She had been gone for many years, and for many contracts. And as many faces blurred over the years, her face stayed clear and as pristine as the day he met her. Perhaps it was impossible to forget such a truly unfinished story.

Ciel's eyes lit up in surprise as the words flowed from Sebastian's lips.

"A woman? You have to be joking. How could a woman make a contract with you? What were the conditions?" His childish curiosity was being piqued. Sebastian picked up on this fact as he approached the desk. A single hand was placed over his heart and he bowed.

"Now, My Lord, I've just told you about my policy. Do you expect me to break it just for you?" Sebastian smirked even as a glare of blue bullets settled on him.

"Nothing of the past changes the fact that I am your loyal servant until the end." He withdrew himself back to the cart, perhaps giving the Earl a hint to the end of their conversation.

"I shall return to alert you of Sir Rivelle's arrival. Do enjoy the Roselle tea at your leisure." And with those words, Sebastian exited from his master's study. The silent closing of the door cut off all contact and words of the conversation they had previously held. The butler turned back towards the hall ahead of him with a smirk. The reawakening of those memories had given him just a touch of nostalgia.

"Cecily Elizabeth Alexander." He mused to himself.

"The only soul that got away."


	2. Chapter 2

"Brother! Brother, where are you?" A sweet voice rang from the pink lips of this young girl. The grip she was giving

the banister softened as she reached the ground floor to which she had been heading towards. Her flat shoes

connected with the scarlet carpet as she picked up her speed. The girl felt a smile touch her lips as the nearby study

came into view. The slightly maroon door frame outlining the open door was always a signal that she was welcome

to interrupt her studying brother inside. The little girl would always look for this signal, no matter the time of day.

After all, her older brother never left the dusty room full of complicated and old books. The little sister never truly

knew just why he was so captivated by them all. There weren't even any pictures in them.

"Brother Derrick!"

The sound of a high pitched voice alerted the man from his careful studies. His head rose to glance over at the door

several feet away from him. As usual, a brunette head popped in with a large smile. That smile touched the young

man's lips as well as he realized just who had interrupted him.

"Cecily. Hasn't mother scolded you for running around the manor?" Derrick stared into the evergreen eyes that his

sister admired him with. The bright color when paired with the contrasting red of her dress made her eyes pop out

of her body. Perhaps her older brother was just a bit jealous of her for that trait.

The girl proceeded to run into the study with no mind to his previous statement. A fit of giggles exploded from her as

she stopped next to her brother.

"Yes, she has. Not that I would bear in mind to listen, though." Even with this young girl's age of only ten, she had

quite a mouth on her. However, Derrick was most likely to blame for such the sharp tongue. He didn't mind to keep

any tact with his parents in front of his sister. With their grand age difference of nearly ten years, he was on whole

different terms of respect with their parents. While she was expected to listen and behave, he was known to argue

with the rules and regulations set by mother and father Alexander. They weren't always right, anyway.

"So why are you causing a stir in the study? Don't you have books to read in your room?" The tall man silently

closed the book he held onto. As Derrick stood, the dark brown locks on his head shifted in position. His centered

bangs nearly covered his amber orange eyes with just a single movement. The man was long overdo for a haircut,

after all.

Cecily followed him as he placed a nearby book back to the wooden shelf just in front of him. A frown formed on her

face as she recollected her rather boring afternoon.

"Yes, I do, but they're not very interesting at all. There's too many large words, and I don't understand what's going

on in the story. It's a ridiculously stupid book." The girl tried so very hard to read the books her brother had long

shoved into his memory. They were all thick and advanced with an age minimum far above the girl's, so it only made

sense that she was having a rather difficult time.

Derrick turned back to her with a new found smile.

"Now don't say that, little Cecily. Every book is just another world that you haven't lived in. Yet. You have to place

yourself in the characters' boots and experience things as they do. Perhaps then you'll understand that new world

and just why every event happens." His rather long explanation sent a sparkle to his orange eyes. Derrick was

always so animated when discussing books.

Cecily did not seem convinced. Her scowl kept close to her lips as she groaned slightly.

"Now, now. Say that you will try it for me. Just for one book, Cecily." He strode back towards his seat at the

mahogany table. The girl, in turn, took a place across from him.

"I suppose so." She gave in finally.

Derrick seemed rather pleased at her statement, as the smile on his pale face grew quite large.

"That's my little sister."

"Derrick." A sudden voice shot both heads towards the frame of the door. Standing in the maroon frame was none

other than the mother they had been speaking of. The long brown hair she refused to cut was put into a loose bun

today, framing her face in the strands of hair and bangs that happen to fall down. Her stern emerald pupils stared

to her son with conveyed words of seriousness. Only the color of her bright yellow dress seemed to be the bright

thing about this woman. The various lace patterns were more intricate than that of her daughters, giving a more

grown up look. The fact of it's length also seemed to add in that fact, as well as the sound of her presumably

ridiculously high heels.

The expression of happiness faded from Derrick's lips as a more solemn and serious one took form. The appearance

of his mother in the study meant only one thing.

The man turned back to his curious younger sister. Only this time, no sparkle or shine was present in his orange

pupils.

"Run along, Cecily. I have work to be done." He declared before standing to his feet. Derrick strode towards the side

of the room engulfed in bookshelves. With his large hands, he grabbed the entirety of a section of red books. Oddly

enough, the entire section came swinging out as one. Behind those books was yet another piece of literature. Cecily

wondered just why it would be hidden so carefully.

Before any more unseen secrets of the study could be revealed to the girl, the sound of clicking heels stopped in

front of her eye. She glanced up towards slightly angry emerald eyes. While she had mostly inherited her eyes from

her mother, the woman's shade of green was just a bit lighter than that of her daughter's.

"Do as you brother has told you, Cecily. And do not speak of this to anyone. Not even the servants. Do you

understand?" The harsh tone the woman was using with her was not new, but it did seem slightly more angry than

usual. The girl nodded with blank eyes.

Cecily watched from the outside of the room as her brother once again approached the wooden table they had just

been sitting to. This time, however, he held the thick hidden book she had just seen. His submissive and slightly

fearful expression was not like his rebellious attitude at all. His orange eyes glanced up to her for just a moment

before the door shut to divide the two.

Cecily was left all alone in the hallway to recollect the events that had just happened in front of her.

_What was that book? Why does mother not allow anyone but brother to see it? _She thought to herself softly. Cecil bit

her lip.

_I want to see what it is._

* * *

The dreads of night drifted down upon the manor as a silver shining moon rose to expel most darkness. Only when

lone clouds drifted in front of this celestial body did the outside dare to disappear completely into a thick black. All

individuals in the house were in their respective rooms with nay a sound or light emitting from the entire building.

Only did a small dog stir from her sleep. She was so small and frail, only someone listening quite intently could hear

her light footsteps tapping on the stairs as she neared the study. They disappeared into the room before a small

hand closed the door to a crack. She did not seem to mind the darkness of the entire manor, or at least showed no

obvious apprehension in each precise step.

_The book was behind these red books. Brother Derrick swung them out like this. _Cecily followed the memory of her

sibling and felt a small smile come to her lips as the shelf showed her the hidden compartment.

Sitting by itself in the dark space was a book thicker than any novel given to her by her brother. No dust clung to

the dark maroon cover, though it was obviously worn and old.

Cecily grabbed the book with both hands as she brought it towards her chest. The girl paid no mind to the still open

compartment as she took a seat to the mahogany table just behind her.

The silver light streaming from a nearby window allowed a cut of the book to be seen through the thick black. Cecily

stared intently with her evergreen pupils to the red cover. With dedicated fingers, she opened the book.

_What is this? Why is Derrick reading this book? How?_ Confusion touched Cecily's strained expression. She began to

grow rather impatient as her flipping through the pages increased.

Every single page of the hidden and old book was blank. No words or even numbers lined the worn paper, though it

seemed as though heavy detail had been paid to each and every flip. Each page was equally worn and tattered

around the edges. Just how had her brother been able to stare at the blank pages in all the time she wasn't

allowed into the study?

"Cecily!" A whispered shout jerked the girl's hand away. In doing so, she managed to tear the page her fingers had

been glued to. Her wide green eyes flitted towards the previously cracked door that was now wide open.

Standing in the frame was none other than her older brother. Instead of any anger or annoyance stained to his

face, a deep terror was glued to his orange eyes. He seemed frozen as he stared to the small rip in the page.

"I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to... I just wanted to know why you and mother were always alone in here..." The girl

lowered her eyes in shame.

Derrick remained silent for many seconds at his position near the door. If he was judging her ill-decisions, she didn't

know. Perhaps he would take away all the books she was reading. What would she do with her time then? Worst

yet, she had betrayed his trust. How could she live with herself if her adored brother hated her?

Silently, Derrick strode over to her position. He stared down to the rip in the page that the girl had so mistakenly

caused. He caressed the page with blank eyes before crouching down to his sister's eye level.

"You were never in here, Cecily. You've been sleeping in your bed while I've been working down here. Do not tell

mother or father. You have to listen to me, Cecily. They cannot know that you have touched this book." His serious

expression frightened the young girl.

"What about the tear in the page?" She asked with a small whisper. Her brother did not often speak in such a way

with her. Now Cecily knew what grave mistake she had caused. Why had she not just listened?

Derrick shook his head. He straightened his posture to guide her sister's feet back to the ground. Derrick grabbed

the book from the table before meeting with his sister near the door.

"Do not worry of it. Return to bed and fall asleep as fast as god allows you to, Cecily. Do not hesitate to call upon

me if you so need me." With those rather suspicious words, the man closed the door in front of Cecily. She was once

again left to face the maroon door frame to recollect her thoughts.

_That book... Just what is it?_


	3. Chapter 3

"Derrick? Derrick, where have you gone to, brother?" No rushed feet ran down the grand staircase illuminated by the overhead skylight. After all, if this young woman dare to rush herself, the tall heels on her feet would most likely cause some injury of sorts. It was better to go slow and steady until she reached the study door to which she was heading towards.

"Derrick?" She asked yet again, head poking into the faded maroon door frame. It took but a second for her evergreen eyes to settle on her brother. A warm smile set to her pink-stained lips as the two locked eyes.

"Good afternoon, Cecily." His happy orange pupils had, of course, been pointed towards a book he must have read ten times over. The library really wasn't big enough for the man.

Cecily strode towards her brother, the only sound in the air the clicking of her dark red heels. Every accessory on her body matched the maroon dress falling down to the ground before the girl. Even the necklace roped around her neck kept to the theme held by her laced dress. Having all of those small attributes pulled away from the fact of Cecily's down hair. Her mother absolutely ate her alive for her persistence in the untamed long hair. If it brushed perfectly straight, what was the harm in having it down?

"Mother had told me you have just gotten back. I nearly imploded upon hearing of your safe return." The young woman took a seat next to her brother.

"I'm glad you're back, Derrick."

Her only friend in the dark manor, her brother, had decided to travel the East nearly two years ago, leaving little Cecily alone for all that time. Perhaps if she were still the small and helpless child she used to be, that loneliness would have killed her. There was no room to have such feelings at her age. After all, she was due to leave soon. At sixteen, she was nearly past her marriage prime. Perhaps her parents would have Derrick help in deciding the best candidate for her betrothal.

Derrick closed the book in front of him as he settled his eyes on his sister.

"My, how you've grown in my absence. You're so much more matured and composed, Cecily. Your beauty has grown considerably as well. Mother and father must be close to death with all the proposals from eligible spouses." His small comment and warm smile caused a small red blush to creep on his sister's face.

"You must be joking, Derrick. Come now, you must have heard it from father." She smacked him lightly on the arm to stop his blatant lies. He was so very obvious when the truth did not spill from his lips. One not even knowing him could see it in the orange pupils.

The man nodded.

"Alright, alright, I have been made aware. Though, I would have liked to keep it from you for much longer. At least until I've decided to stay permanently." No sign of anger or refusement spilled from the smile on her brother's face. Perhaps this fact made the girl smile just a bit larger.

Derrick grabbed his sister's hand as lightly as possible. The pale skin was held slightly elevated as the man stared to the evergreen pupils looking back at him.

"Cecily Elizabeth Alexander, may I have the pleasure of calling you my fiance?"

In marrying her brother, the line of noble blood stayed clean and no hassle of arranging dowrys or agreements had to be made. Better yet, the young aristocrat did not have to leave her home to live in a strange place many hours away. Best of all, Cecily was able to spend the rest of her life with the only man able to make a smile come to her face or get up in the middle of the night to drive her nightmares away. What more could she ask for?

"Of course." Cecily squeezed the hand holding hers with all the might and happiness that she could summon. Perhaps she shattered a bone or two in his wrist with the large amount.

The two remained silent until the man's mind drifted towards another subject.

"I had nearly forgotten." He let the girl's hand slide from his as he stood from his seat.

Derrick drifted towards the bookshelf just behind the two. He fingers slid past the red section of books and to a rather new addition to the library. He lifted the novel as he strode back towards his sister.

"I have a present for you. Do you remember the novel we came across so many years ago? The one I translated for you?"

Of course the girl remembered this book. It was an odd addition to the library, as it was in a strange language the two had never heard of. The curiosity of the older brother had driven him to learn the dialect written in the book. He translated the entire piece and proceeded to read it to his younger sister.

It was a story about a man who had lost everything in a storm. He even lost his daughter and wife. He was so grief stricken by such the immense loss that he succumb to depression. He became a drunk that wandered the streets only looking for the next jug of wine. However, as he wandered, he was found by a woman. She was silent, but so beautiful. Without saying a word, she housed him and bathed him. He sobered up and was eventually let go by the breath-taking giver. In accepting the woman's kindness, he realized the error of his drifting and drunkness. This man decided not to disappoint the ones he had lost in the storm. He got a loan from the king in order to rebuild his farm. However, his old habits came back to him when the past memories of the farm house haunted him. He could see his young daughter and wife everywhere he looked. Instead of plowing or tending to the seeds, he drank wine and slept. Soon enough, when the time of collection for the rent came, he had no money to pay with, and no crops to trade. The man was thrown into prison where he died alone and haunted by nightmares.

It was such a sad story that the girl knew there needed to be a second book to the series. How could the author leave it at such a horrible note?

"Yes, I remember it. I cried for days afterward in grief over the man. He lost everything, and when he tried to regain it, he only ended up losing more." Cecily thought back in silent reflection. That was one story she never wanted to read again.

Derrick gave the girl a strange look.

"Really? I only felt anger. The man had gotten a chance to regain some of what he had lost, but he threw that chance away. How could someone do that? He could have made his family so proud, but he succumb to the darkness again." Derrick shook his head almost as though he was disappointed in the main character's actions.

"Anyway, I actually came across the man who wrote the book. He was a fine man when it released. At least, I had heard he was." The man took himself back to the seat next to his listening sister.

"He lost all of his money to thieves, it seems. He was in rags when I spoke with him." Derrick extended the book towards his sister. Up close, the girl could now see that a piece of paper was stuck to the front cover.

"When I told him of your attachment to his story, he offered this to me in exchange for ten pounds. I gave him twenty."

Cecily now held the worn book in her hands. She stared down to the dark blue cover with a new found curiosity. With light fingers, she opened the cover. The girl unfolded the paper until words of a strange dialect were seen. Almost as though he had memorized them, her brother began to recite them.

"The man drifted in darkness for so long that time itself began to fade. The overwhelming black that surrounded him seemed as though it could drive him crazy. Maybe it was his hell, he thought. It was payment back for the disappointment he had been to the family he had loved to dearly. He would be forever left alone in this swallowing darkness to recollect his misdeeds. But, just as the man had given up hope, a light cut through the darkness. He stared to this shimmering and warm light and saw two figures emerging from it. There was a medium sized silhouette as well as a small one. For a last time, smiling, the man thought, he was wrong. This must be his heaven."

Cecily's face began to create a smile as her brother read off the words.

"I like that ending. He became reunited with his wife and child again. Thank you, Derrick."

The man folded the paper he held and inserted it back into the book. He nodded to his sister.

"I thought you would. The man said that was his original ending, but he decided to end the novel sooner." He was just happy that his sister had found peace in the fact that the main character had reunited with his loved ones. She was incredibly too kind sometimes.

"Would you like to stay with me while I read? I shall not be retiring to bed until the later hours, but you are welcome to stay." Derrick opened the book he had closed upon his sister's arrival.

Cecily nodded, smile still stuck.

"I'd like to ask a favor, though." The girl grabbed the paper from the finished story. She extended the ending to her brother.

"Could you please translate this onto paper for me? I'd like to be able to read it any time I wish." It was a small request that Derrick should have anticipated. He accepted the paper without any complaint.

"Of course. I should be able to finish it now." Derrick began to scribble the correct English translations above the foreign language at his sister's careful watch. Within only a few minutes, he extended the finished paragraph with a smile.

"Here you are, little Cecily. Now when I leave to the East again, you'll be able to read the story."

The impending darkness of the lowering sun flooded into the room. It seemed to accompany the frown held to Cecily's face.

"Do you really have to leave again, brother? It's terribly lonely without you here. No one is around to have the authority to disagree with mother." Cecily watched as her brother's hand came to rest on her shoulder. He rubbed the sleeve comfortingly.

"Do not worry, Cecily. I will return soon enough." His smile formed as more thoughts appeared to his mind.

"And perhaps the wedding preparations will be finished while I'm absent. If I return at the right time, we can marry then." Derrick laughed slightly at his own words. He didn't intend to be gone for as long as the previous two years. Perhaps only six months would be taken from his sister.  
Cecily regained her happiness. She nodded.

"Perhaps they w-" A loud shot into the still night air sent shivers up both the siblings' backs. The dark evergreen eyes on Cecily widened as she realized just what noise had cut her off.

Who could be firing a gun?

Derrick acted more quickly than the frozen teenager. He shot to his feet and to the door. Derrick took a quick glance before closing the maroon piece. With quick and precise movements, he dragged a chair under the handle.

Derrick strode back over to his sister. He gripped both of her shoulders as his equally frightened eyes met hers.

"Listen to me, Cecily-" Another shot caused the girl to wince. This time, a sharp scream accompanied it. Whoever was firing these guns had to be out for blood. Just what did they want? She drew back slightly only to be shaken back to sense by her brother.

"Listen, Cecily!" His voice rose to snap her back into the situation they had fallen into.

"Whoever it is, they're after only one thing. It is imperative that we do not give it to them. Are you following me?" Derrick released one arm of the girl to reach into his suit. He withdrew a rather large book that Cecily had never guessed was on him.

"T-The book that y-you and mom were keeping." She had not seen it in all the years since she was young. After the tear in the page had been made, there was no way she would take another chance with the assumingly important object. Apparently her assumption had been right. Another closer shot of a gun willed Derrick to cover his jacket. He concealed the book back into his coat.

"Cecily, if you follow all things they say, I promise you that everything will be alright. Just do _not _tell them of the book. Even if I lie in the ground surrounded by bloo-"

"Derrick!" The girl let a shriek escape from the back of her throat at his words.

The man shook his head again.

"It may very well happen. Nothing matters, not even death, if they get this book. A hell on Earth could take place if they somehow find it."

The maroon door Derrick had placed a chair to emitted a sound almost as though it was being rammed from the other side. A voice burst through the walls and froze every nerve in Cecily.

"Oi! Take down this damn door if you don't want a bullet in yer chest!" A harsh voice warned from the foyer.

Cecily traced her eyes to her brother striding towards the door.

"Of course! Please give me a moment." The brother's hands wrapped around the wood of the chair. He took a single moment to glance back to his sister. His orange pupils when highlighted by the moon poking through a nearby window seemed so sad. Did he really think this to be their last time together?

Derrick turned back to the chair. He exhaled a deep breath before removing it. His hand wrapped around the door knob to allow the hostile man into the room.  
The darkness highlighting the room cast a shadow over the man holding a firearm. Derrick drew backwards towards Cecily as the man walked into the room. Through the thick black, Cecily could identify greasy blonde hair and sharp brown pupils. Every finer detail was hidden from her by the night.

"Where is it?" The man was obviously getting impatient with his wandering around the manor. With such a large building, it would be nearly impossible to find anything.

Derrick plastered a confused frown to his face. He shook his head.

"I don't know what you're t-"

"Don't play dumb with me, you high class ass!" Derrick winced slightly as the words settled on his massive pride. He swallowed it slightly to shrug at the man again.

"I truly don't know what you speak of, sir. I've just returned with my fiance from a trip to the East. The manor has changed considerably since our absence. We have a very expensive painting hanging in the foyer just outs-"

"I don't want your damn artwork! Where the hell is the book!? We want the book!"

Cecily could identify the sound of rushing feet in the foyer. Her expression tightened.

This man did not come alone.

Derrick once again shook his head.

"Please, sir, I don't know of any book you need. We're in the study. You may take anything you wish to. You're scaring my fiance, sir." That was one fact that Cecily could not argue with. She could not move from her position next to Derrick. Just what was going to happen to the both of them?  
Derrick's words did not seem to satisfy the man. He rose the gun to Derrick's head. The high pitched gasp coming from Cecily came out without her realizing. The entire world seemed to slow down as reality came rushing forward.

"I'll give you one more try, kid. Where. Is. My. Book."

Silence. Silence seemed so loud in that moment.

Derrick's eyes drifted towards the ground. A sad smile settled on his face as he realized just how serious this man was.

"I do not know."

The man closed his eyes in annoyance at the aristocrat's words. Going against his threat, he lowered the gun. Derrick closed his eyes in silent relief. While he was able to go to such drastic means to conceal the book, he was not truly ready to die. At least the invader had lost his nerve.

Cecily was able to calm herself just a little at the immediate threat disappearing.  
The hostile man turned his sights towards the teenager. With no hesitance, he rose his gun. A single shot rang through the air and made contact with the thigh beneath Cecily's dress. Her leg gave way before the immense pain came rushing towards her. Cecily let a shriek ring out from her as her hand latched to her leg. Derrick's eyes doubled in size as his mouth opened.

"CECILY-" Another shot rang from the man. This time, however, the gun was not aimed towards Cecily. A single bullet flew through the air and landed on the head of Derrick. His cry was cut off into the frozen night air. His sentence would never be finished, and this fact was evident in his crumpling body. The sick thud of his corpse to the rug rung in Cecily's ears with the gunshot.

A thick scream seemed higher in pitch than the shot as Cecily reached towards the body.

"DERRICK! DERRICK!" Her voice became stained with sobs at the numbness of her thigh as well as the sight before her. Derrick's body had landed at such an angle that his dead eyes stared through her. Tears trailed down Cecily's cheeks as she looked on.

"What a jackass. They're always condescending us "lower class"." The man spoke over the sobs erupting from the teenager. He set his sight towards her.

"Who would tell you anything? Useless." He scoffed at the apparent oblivious woman. The man turned back towards the open door to the study.

"Just bleed out silently and be done with it."

Cecily was left alone in the study she had spent so many carefree days in. Those days filled with reading with her brother could never come back, she realized.

Cecily tightened her fists as the feeling of a hot liquid streamed down her ankle. The pain was of a red hot ember jammed deeply into the flesh. All area around the wound was numb to the touch, but somehow still painful.

"Derrick... Derrick.." The girl reached her hand towards the motionless red streaming from his forehead. That hole was blacker than the dark surrounding the entire manor, it seemed.

Through her sobs, the girl noticed the item causing her suffering. Peeking out from her brother's jacket was the book he had lost his life in protecting. She felt such a boiling anger mixed with grief at this object. She nearly tore the cover off as she ripped it from his jacket. A lapse in strength caused the book to drop to the ground. It's landing flipped the pages open to reveal the white nothingness that her brother had protected.

_Why!? Why did he die trying to protect something of so little value!? Just what does this ridiculously stupid book matter!? Why does everyone want it!? _

The white pages began to be consumed by red as the stream of blood from her brother's fatal wound dripped down. It landed in splatters and mocked the girl.

Cecily's expression contorted to that of grief again. She collapsed forward, perhaps accepting the fate that had been given to her.

_He had just come back to me... _

The girl only moved when the sobs in her throat rocked her entire body.

"And what do you have to cry about, child?" The sound of a new voice cut into Cecily's ears. She closed her eyes tightly as the prospect of another hostile individual became clear. She didn't need anyone mocking her now.

Nonetheless, the girl allowed her head to rise. What she saw when her evergreen pupils adjusted was not as she expected, however.

The study containing so much of her and her brother's blood was gone. A thick black now engulfed every area around the girl. Only the occasional fall of white feathers interrupted the silent and solemn darkness.

"W-what is going on? Who are you?" So many questions now plagued Cecily. Had she just been dreaming? Was this a dream now? Or had she already died?

The voice calling towards her in superiority let out a laugh.

"The book so many shed blood protecting and decoding has been solved by more blood yet. And by a young girl losing far more than she could begin to fathom. Tell me, child, has this event driven you so far out of faith that your heart would be the one to draw me out of all the others?" The voice was not from a single direction. It was all around Cecily, maybe even in her head.

"What are you talking of? Who are you?"

Once again, the man's voice laughed to her.

"I am greed. I am lust, envy, hatred, revenge. I can be all of these things, or just one for you. One wish can set you free from the chains of revenge that plague your soul. In turn, your freed soul shall belong to me. Would you like to form a contract with me, child?" The words he spoke were English, but they seemed like gibberish to the girl.

"A-A contract? Are you a demon?" Such stories were only myths told by her brother. Never could such an evil and malicious being be summoned by her, could it?

"Yes. I deal in contracts to help individuals such as yourself. I am the book your sibling protected with shed blood. I had been sealed in those pages for many hundreds of years. Only blood could release me. Do not make your brother's sacrifice go in vain. You have the power to punish those who have hurt you. Form a contract with me."

Cecily furrowed her brows. Such contact with a demon went against everything sacred taught to her. Even so...

"I.. I don't know.." She answered truthfully. If she had been told of the events appearing in her life beforehand, she wouldn't have hesitated to deny the contract. But having actually experienced them, she knew just how deep the hatred and revenge burnt.

"I will follow every command made by you. Never shall I betray the terms of our contract, you have my word. Your soul shall become mine and the joys of heaven shall forever be closed off to you. I will ask for the last time; Do you wish to form a contract with me?" The words he spoke seemed to rush her along. Cecily closed her eyes, the image of her brother flashing in her evergreen pupils.

With only a whisper, the girl spoke.

"Yes."


	4. Chapter 4

"How long were you in her service?" Ciel kept his eyes pointed towards the opened newspaper in his hands as he spoke. His loud voice extended across the room towards the dusting butler. Upon hearing these words, the demon smiled.

"Barely two weeks, My Lord. Those days went by far too quickly for me to truly remember what took place in them." That was a lie. Of course the butler could remember the time he spent with the woman. She was so very... Interesting. The way her evergreen eyes followed him all around the room with suspicion and anxiety could always put a smirk to his face. Even her defiant way of addressing him was entertaining. Yes, that child was one he missed quite dearly in a boring day.

"Two weeks? You fulfilled the terms of the contract that quickly?" Ciel now put down his newspaper as the answer had not been to his assumption.

Sebastian stopped his dusting as he turned to the boy.

"Not quite, My Lord." A smirk had left his face. Sebastian went back to his dusting as the words trailing from his mouth hit Ciel's ears.

"She was of a special case, My Lord. She.. Escaped, so to say." He admitted, knowing full-well that the boy would make him quite a fool for saying it.

Ciel's eyes widened as a smile came to his face.

"You must be joking with me. A mere girl escaped the fate of a demon's contract? How in the bloody hell did she do that?" Now he was interested. If this child had the smarts to outwit the Faustian seal and even the tracking abilities of an able demon, who was to say he couldn't as well?

"Her escaping had nothing to do with her wits, My Lord. It was out of my abilities to catch her, and before I realized it, our contract had become void." Sebastian turned back to Ciel with a smirk now to his lips.

"Do not worry of it. I do not intend to make the same mistake with you. Our contract's terms shall be met with a smile and open arms, My Lord."

Ciel narrowed his eyes to the obviously warning statement. He was not the child all around him assumed to be. He did not go back on his promises, and this deal was one of them.

Sebastian gathered his supplies before heading towards the door of the study.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, My Lord, I have other duties to be attending." With a quick bow, Sebastian stepped through the door.

"One more question, Sebastian." He was once again stopped by the boy's growing curiosity. With a quick sigh, the demon turned back.

"Yes, My Lord?" He asked.

Ciel placed down the newspaper in his hand. A smile formed to his lips as the question touched them.

"The girl, did your charms gather her attention as well? Did you let her go because of a forbidden love of sorts?" It was an utterly ridiculous question that Ciel knew full well. He did enjoy teasing this butler whenever possible.

Sebastian took the smile from his master's lips and intensified it to a smirk on his own.

"No, My Lord. I am positive that girl only housed hatred in her heart for me. Perhaps fear as well. And do not be ridiculous. A mere human could never satisfy my tastes for a mate." With those words, Sebastian took his leave. The study door closed slowly as Ciel was left all alone. The boy paused for just a moment, blue eyes still sitting on the oak door. Finally, when the tapping of the shoes had disappeared, he reached for his newspaper.

"Utter rubbish." He snickered.

"What traits would that butler prefer to be present in a human?"


	5. Chapter 5

A faint silhouette shone in front of the girl's eyes. The blinding light emitting from behind the individual made it nearly impossible for her pupils to adjust, but nonetheless, after several seconds, the peaceful person was made clear to her. His gentle orange pupils lie softly to the book he held in his hand as a warm smile sat to his lips. His black coat had been removed and placed to the table in front of him, most likely on account of the nearby open window. The man now only held a white shirt to his slender body. A nearby breeze flowed through his dark brown locks as his eyes shifted towards Cecily's.

Upon seeing his sister, the smile on him grew in size.

"I only felt anger at the man. He had been given a chance for a new life, only to throw it away." These words reflected their last conversation, yet the girl did not understand just why he decided to say them. Cecily reached out, her brother's image being overcome by the increasing intensity of the sun. His eyes shifted back towards the book held tightly in his hand. Her last image of his smiling face disappeared as the girl opened her eyes.

The blinding light that streamed in from a nearby window was equal to the intensity of the celestial body in her dream. Cecily raised her hand to shield her evergreen pupils from the intense rays. Her sight of the room adjusted as her memories returned to her.

The girl's eyes widened almost as largely as her brother's had the night previously. The sight of the body landing with such a sick noise came back to her as a nauseating feeling arose from her stomach. Cecily clamped a hand over her mouth as tears welled to her eyes. She shifted herself to the side of the bed.

_No. That never happened! It was all a dream! If I run downstairs now, I'll see him in the study. He'll be just coming back from the East, I'm sure of it!_

Cecily stepped forward to the smooth tiled floor of her bedroom. Upon reaching her right foot out for support, she felt herself falling. The girl braced herself as her body met with the ground. Cecily opened her eyes to glance down.

Below her hips was a mere bandage. While no blood soaked through, neither did any appendage. The leg she had all her life was gone in just a day.

The pain she had not noticed began to return as the sound of a gunshot filled her ears. Not just one, however. One had been to incapacitate her, as the other had been to kill her brother. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes again.  
"My dear mistress, there is no need to cry. Please, allow me." A hand stretched in front of the girl's face. The white glove covering long fingers traced back to an equally tall and slender man. His dark brown locks of hair seemed horribly uncut, as the centered bangs shifted over his red orange pupils at his crouched position. The attractive looks matched nearly exactly to that of her brother's.

The girl drew back slightly.

"W-Who are you?" She asked with just a bit of fear. First she loses her brother, then her leg, and now a strange man dressed in a butler's black jacket and pants appears to her in her bedroom. Had he been the with the man wanting her brother's book?

The man straightened his posture. A smirk formed to his face as a hand clasped over his heart. He bowed slightly to the girl's position on the floor.

"I am your humble servant, mistress. Until the very end when your revenge is exacted, I shall stay with you. Now please," He reached out once again. "give me your hand, my mistress."

_Make a contract with me. _

Cecily's evergreen eyes stared back in fear as she realized just who the devilish man reaching out to her was.

"A demon." She whispered lowly. Her knuckles tightened until the skin turned white.

The smirk sitting on the man's face did not waver. His red-orange eyes seemed to almost glow as he began to speak.

"I managed to eliminate six of the twelve men who had entered the manor. I'm afraid I had to let the rest go in order to tend to your leg. Excuse me for my drastic measures, mistress, as the bullet had lodged itself rather deep in your leg. Your only chance for survival was amputation. With me at your side, though, there is no harm in losing a leg or even an arm." He reached out towards her arm yet again. The man lifted her from the ground as he provided support to her right side. With her now up, the butler let her drop to the bed just behind the two.

Cecily could only watch as he removed the glove to his show the pale skin.

Black paint touched his long fingernails and gave Cecily a scared chill. Even stranger, an odd symbol lie on the back of his hand. A star sat in the middle of a circle surrounded by curved diamonds. The entire purple mark disappeared as his hand went towards the stump that used to be the girl's leg. With a pull to the white undergarments the girl wore, the man revealed a similar symbol resting on her skin.

"These marks are what binds us, mistress. With these, I follow every command spilling from your lips. In return," He replaced the glove he had removed. The butler stood from the bed as he faced Cecily.

"you may never escape."  
All air in Cecily's longs was exhaled as those red-orange pupils glowed a light purple. The two stayed in connected eyes for several minutes before the butler decided it best to back off. He looped around the bed towards a nearby chair. A deep aqua dress lie hanging on the piece, and he took great delicacy in picking it up.

The demon began to speak as though their previous exchange of words had been casual.

"I had found this gown hanging in your closet, mistress. I hope you did not find it rude of me to fetch it for you." The butler ignored her silent and staring eyes as he reached towards her.

"I shall dress you and prepare breakfast post-haste." His white glove worked it's way to her wrist before the girl moved. She withdrew her wrist rather quickly as her teeth clenched. The girl looked to him with fierce evergreen. The tears returned to her eyes as the first question she had came to her lips.

"Where is he!? Where is Derrick!?" How could she have her brother's corpse tainted with the skin of a lowly demon-a demon that she herself had made a contract with? Just the thought made her sick...

The butler replaced his expression with that of indifference.

"I shall bring you to him right at this moment if you so wish, mistress." The butler set the dress to the girl's bed before extending both arms.

"But if you wish to make it there before sunset, I must be able to touch you." With her injury, there would be no way to wobble down the stairs if that was where Derrick was. The girl closed her eyes as her head turned.

"I-If you see it needed, there is no helping it."

The smirk returned to the demon's face as his hands wrapped around the girl's waist. The feeling of sharp nails pricking into her made her wince for just a moment, yet Cecily's eyes remained shut. She did not wish to see such a, a _thing _so close up. Perhaps her previous meal would threaten to arise if she did. She rested in the man's arms as he began to walk. She identified the stairs as he worked his way down the grand foyer. She began to grow suspicious as they missed the entrance to the study.

Cecily opened her eyes to glance around to their surroundings, yet all she could see were orange-red pupils staring at her.

"Are we regaining our ability to see, mistress?" He mocked her.

Cecily found no ability to respond to the accusation. Her head flitted away from his eyes and to their surroundings. They were quickly approaching the main door leading to the back of the manor. Soon enough, both bodies would see the morning sun slowly rising from the horizon.

Cecily was revealed to the high-shining sun of the rear garden as the butler opened the door. The sun shining high in the clear blue sky told Cecily that she had slept in until nearly noon.

"Where are we going?" She demanded with a shaking voice. There was no true "casual conversation" with this devil. Just a glance from those red-orange eyes could send a shiver of terror up the girl's spine.

"To see the Young Lord, My mistress." His monotone voice rang closely to her ears, yet the girl did not truly hear it. Her soft eyes were instead focused upon a rather new development in the garden. This piece that had not previously been there now rang as the center piece embedded in a tangle of rose bushes. It rose above them, and even seemed out of place.

Cecily shoved the man slightly away from his close proximity with her.

"Let me down." She closed her eyes as her body was set to the ground. The cold chill of grass on her bare foot seemed odd when not paired with a partner.

Cecily looked to the distance with a longing to grow closer, yet her one foot remained planted firmly into the ground.

Without a word, a white hand dropped next to the girl's arm for support. Cecily was left with no other choice than to get assistance from the demon to wobble to the rose garden.

The girl stared down to the stone tablet with dull evergreen eyes. Cecily felt no words come to her lips in staring to the cold and empty words scratched into the surface of the grave.

_Derrick Octavius Alexander. Beloved Son and Brother. 1704-1727.  
_The stone, even as it was newly placed, had been wrapped and encased in the thick surrounding rose vines. The thorns spread out evenly among the blooming red and white roses. Perhaps there had been no better place the girl could have thought of to bury her older brother.

"I went through various family journals to figure out where the best place for the resting young master would be. You two made this garden together, so I saw it fit to be his resting place. Is that correct?"

Cecily dropped the butler's arm as his touch seemed to be too much to handle.

"No, it isn't." She stated blankly. The girl reached out towards the cool stone to run a loving hand over it. Her fingers caressed into the indents, "brother".

"He gave me a book of roses, and seeing how much I enjoyed it, he decided to have a rose garden added onto the manor." Her eyes narrowed down as she pressed her fingers roughly into the stone.

"Never had any roses decided to bloom, no matter how hard the gardener tried. Not until now." Cecily gave herself a sour smile as the tears returned to her evergreen eyes.

"Funny, isn't it?" The girl turned back to the butler.

"Thank you." She found herself saying to the demon. Even with his species and holding of her life, she had to thank him for such a small and loving act that he may not have even known of.

The man felt a smile return to his face as a hand was placed to his chest. The butler bowed to Cecily.

"Of course, my mistress. Your parents are resting in the remaining room of the family graves. Would you like me to help you there?" The butler asked.

Cecily shook her head, eyes drooping again.

"No, no, it's alright.. I think I've had enough of this today. Could you please leave me here? Just for a little while?" She turned back to the miracle grave.

"I'd like to be alone." She muttered lowly.

The butler chuckled as his reply rang out.

"But of course. Dinner shall be prepared when you are ready. Please do not hesitate to call me."  
Cecily did not call the demon out on his laughter. She just wanted him to leave. She needed to be alone with her brother.

With the clicking of the mans shoes gone, Cecily faced the grave holding the melancholy words to the face. Her voice came out small and a whisper as soft as the light breeze ruffling through her hair.

"Derrick... It's.. It's me. I survived, brother." With just talking to him, an immense shame settled on the girl.

Why had she been the one to make it? Why had her leg not bled out? Why hadn't she been the one to be shot in the head? Her brother was so much kinder, smarter, and just better. He deserved the long and fruitful life that he was supposed to have, not her. Further more...

"Do you remember those books you would read me of grandiose fears and terrifying demons? I.." She gathered herself as the confession welled on her lips.

"I've made a deal with one. He's terribly intimidating and always knows where I am. He'll be hunting the ones who hurt you brother. The odd thing is, though.." She furrowed her brows.

"I do not house any type of hatred in my heart. Surely, there is anger and a sense of unfairness, but I do not wish to actively seek them out. Sorrow hardens the shell of my heart to the point of cracking." Her knee met contact with the grass on the ground. The girl collapsed towards the grave in front of her. Encased in thorns, her hands were unable to wrap around the stone as she so longed too.

"How am I able to go on with revenge when life without you seems so empty and cruel..?"


	6. Chapter 6

_Two simple weeks and the girl manages to escape. Just what had she done? Was hers an elaborate plan that she had spent many __day__s on? _

Icy blue eyes traced ahead of the boy as he wandered throughout the garden. The faint spring breeze whipped through his evergreen coat as an equal amount traced through his hair. The boy stared forward, admiring the well taken care of flowers. Each color seemed well in proportion to the one next to it. The boy had to admit, this demon had truly done his best to blend into the role of an able butler. The question was, though; just how had that girl managed to escape his long grasp?

"Sebastian," Ciel spoke in a rather moderate level even as no hint of the butler appeared in the garden. Though the previous statement may not have been true, as a sudden tapping of shoes was heard just behind the boy.

"You called, My Lord?" Sebastian seemed to almost step out of the shadows at his master's command. He stared down with a certain curiosity over the boy's inquisitive tone.

Ciel did not waver in the sudden appearance. It was almost as though he had expected his random call to bring forth the man. Was the butler truly that able?

"Let me ask you a question. You are confident of your abilities as my butler, correct?" The question caught the butler off guard, but he smirked nonetheless. Sebastian bowed slightly to the young man's back.

"But of course, My Lord. You see, I am simply one hell of a butler and have perfected all tasks that befit me." He answered with the usual zeal. If he was sure of anything, it had to be his learned abilities of a butler.

Ciel felt a smirk sneak up on his lips. He turned towards his demon with crossed arms.

"So if that is true, and you find it utterly impossible for me to escape, what is the harm in telling me of the girl who had? Or are you too embarrassed of your failure?" He was pushing this demon far too hard, and the slight twitch appearing in Sebastian's eye was a sure teller. Even with his tick, the man remained professional.

"Pardon me, My Lord, but I'm sure I told you she was of a special case. She did _not _escape based on my failure of anything." Sebastian was rather sour that the two of them were still discussing this. Just what did his Young Master find so interesting about it?

Ciel shook his head, smile still plastered to his face.

"I still see no foul in speaking of her." He pushed back.

Sebastian sighed as he saw the quite serious look in his master's eye. He was not going to let this subject go so easily. The butler crossed his arms as a sort of mirror to Ciel.

"I suppose if you so insist, My Lord." Sebastian turned back the way he had come.

"I shall brew another kettle of Roselle tea. It shall be ready in a few minutes, and if you'd prefer it, we may discuss past contracts then, and only then." Going against his own personal confidentiality of contracts was the only way to shut up the kid talking incessantly. The butler decided it best to get the chat out of the way to free up the time his young master would take away with more questions.

Ciel nodded as though that was the plan he had come up with all along. With that boy, though, who's to say it wasn't?

"Her family was of a high social standing, I could tell. The engagement of the child to her older brother to keep the family blood lines clean was evidence proving my claim, at least." Sebastian poured the sitting child another cup of the dark red liquid steeping in the pot.

"Anyway, her contract consisted of claiming revenge on the twelve individuals taking her family's life and her leg. I was able to eliminate six of the twelve while the others escaped." Sebastian paused to allow a breath of air to fill his lungs.

"The first week of our agreement was very quiet. She didn't appear to like me very much at all." Sebastian gave a rather curious look to the ground.

"Oddly enough, she spoke no words of getting back at those who had done her wrong, either. She wallowed in self-pity for quite some time."

Ciel looked on with a slightly bored expression. He had not asked to hear of the woman's feelings of despair. He had already experienced such a loss, so what was the point in hearing another weaker individual's take on it? Regardless, he drank his tea in silence.

"She began to speak to me when the second week rolled along, yet that was cut short until the day she escaped from my grasp."

"Well how did she do it? Do not bore me with the details." Ciel was growing quite impatient with the anxiousness settling into him. He nearly felt the emotion to beat the information from the butler.

Sebastian gained a smirk as his eyes met with his master's.

"All in good time, My Lord. You are the one who had requested this story, so I will tell it however I see fit. Just wait, and the truth will be revealed."


	7. Chapter 7

"Are you finished, Mistress?" The sight of the red-orange eyes staring to the girl could always send a shiver of hatred and fear up her spine.

_No matter the way I turn, he is always there. Can I not escape this fate, brother?_

Cecily set the spoon she held to her lips back to the half-empty bowl of soup. Various chunks of vegetables and meat floated around the mixture, swirling into a large portion of nutrients left uneaten.

The butler lifted the bowl from the table as he peered into it. His eyes flashed back to the avoiding girl.

"My mistress, you've barely eaten anything in the past week. How are you to regain your lost strength if all you consume is broth?" He seemed to be mocking her in his condescending words.

Cecily remained quiet even as a sigh erupted from behind her chair.

"I suppose it cannot be helped-"

"Demon," Cecily interrupted the butler for the very first time. Upon the hearing of her squeaked voice, the man peered back down with interested eyes.

Cecily tightened her fists under the weight of the pupils.

"I-I have a.. Question." She stated.

The butler remained quiet as though this were a silent push for Cecily to continue.

"You've made contracts with many others, correct? Just.. How many souls have you taken? How many people have you killed?" It was a question that had been eating away at the girl for so very long. Were the hands carrying her around the manor soaked with far more blood than she had originally thought?

The demon let a smirk come to his face as the question fell from her lips. He came into her field of vision as he stepped forward.

"My mistress, I have lived for many hundreds of years. Though I was trapped in that accursed book for a small percentage of them, that does not denounce on my time spent here. I have out-lived millions of beings. Whether their death be by accident, natural causes, or myself, it does not change the fact that they are gone. You too are simply a flash of lightning when compared to my long life. What does this tell you?" He could tell her of the hundreds of lives he had devoured, or simply let the girl find it out for herself.

Cecily thought a moment before the first words came to her mouth.

"You're alone."

The words the girl had blurted out without thought hung in the air for several minutes as the demon stared on with confused eyes. Just what had the girl dared to say to him? What insult of his species had come from her soft pink lips?

Soon enough, however, the demon regained a smirk.

"Isolation is not an emotion that demons feel, my mistress. I assure you, such weak feelings do not exist in my heart. Now, please, let me accompany you to your chambers."  
_He's calling me weak without even directly saying it. I feel lonely and all he can do is mock me. _  
The girl reached towards her water to clear the dry throat his words had caused. Her frail fingers wrapped around the wet glass and lifted it from it's position on the table. The sudden violent cough erupting from the girl's throat nearly flung the glass across the room. The shattering of glass and spreading of the liquid caused just an uninterested glance from the butler. His red-orange eyes traced towards the girl curiously.

Cecily covered her mouth as she stared down to the shards of glass across the floor.

"I'm sorry." She apologized to the butler, knowing he would be the one to clean up for her stupid and sudden mistake.

The butler bent down to the sharp edges with no new expression. He began to pick up the pieces without an eye looking towards the girl.

"Do not worry of it, mistress. It was a mistake, and nothing more. I shall clean it up with haste before we set off to your chambers." It took only several minutes for the man to pick up the shards. Soon enough, he was back to standing straight next to Cecily.

"Are you feeling unwell, mistress?" The butler set the collection of glass shards back to the table Cecily sat to. Without a word, the man placed a large hand over the girl's red forehead. She flinched, rearing her head back into the hand the butler had placed behind her. The girl stared up to red-tinted eyes glancing at her.

For several seconds the man kept his hand pressed upon his mistress' head.

"You have a fever. Have you experienced any other symptoms?" The demon lifted his fingers from her skin before wrapping an arm around the girl's waist. Cecily was hoisted back to the close position the butler often used to carry her throughout the house. While she detested it heavily, there was no other option. She was useless.

Cecily shook her rather dizzy head to dismiss the notion of being sick.

"Nothing strikes me as odd. I'm not ill. I feel fine." In truth, the girl was feeling paranoid of just about everything. Cecily couldn't be sure that every corner they turned down wouldn't be the last. What if one of the men had come back?

Along with such thoughts, the girl was experiencing odd flashes of the day when a shadow would catch the corner of her eye. The shape would turn and twist, but when her evergreen pupils faced it head-on, nothing was revealed. Was she going insane?

The demon continued forward up the stairs with no accusation against the girl. Her body pounded lightly against his as they finally reached the top floor of the manor. It was only a few turns later until the girl was able to be set to the ground.

"If that is all you need of me, mistres-"

"Wait, Demon." Cecily dared once again to cut the butler off. His eyes flashed downwards towards the girl sitting on the edge of her bed. The butler's high position above her allowed leverage above the girl's chest. The man narrowed his eyes to the dotting red streaks seemingly painted onto the skin of her chest. Cecily didn't seem to notice, as her eyes avoided him as usual. The girl shifted uncomfortably to escape his sharp look.

"T-The contract... Has anyone ever... Dissolved it? Is it possible?" Her voice became of a whisper as red-tinted pupils glared downwards.

"You wish to back out of our contract, mistress?" The demon did not seem happy with the words. His daggers dug into Cecily as she struggled to recover.

"I-I was just asking. I had no intention of-"  
"Whatever intention you had, it matters not. A contract is not void until it is fulfilled. I saved your life and eliminated six of your oppressors. If you attempted to back out, I would find you, mistress." A smirk spread across the thin lips of the man.

"As I said, you _cannot _escape. It is impossible. Your dissolution would only bring about your inevitable death more quickly." His words were of venom, yet he spoke with a certain happiness that could only come with a man acting out a job he loved.

Cecily swallowed hard, the faint burn of her throat growing steadily worse. She nodded slowly.

"I know."

The demon swung the girl's foot from the floor and onto the bed. He gentle reach pulling the covers over her chest did not reflect upon his previous words. Neither did the slight pause to stare at the girl's chest once again. Cecily watched his red-orange eyes carefully before they slipped from her image and back to the tending of the bed. The butler turned towards the lit candle before making his exit.

"Have gentle dreams, my mistress." The light of the room was blown out in a single breath to throw Cecily's view in darkness. She could still feel the red-orange eyes pressing into her, though. They never really left her throughout the entire day. The burden of the split-second contract she made weighed heavily on her shoulders as a cross. Would her brother despise her if he knew of it? Would he be ashamed that his younger sister had succumb to the pressure and weakness that was her own solitude? She hoped he wouldn't. After all, the girl already felt the very same about herself.


	8. Chapter 8

"Madam Tristessehas sent her condolences. She wishes to visit on the fifth of-"

"I don't care." The tea sitting on her lap seemed wavy in the girl's fuzzy mind. A headache had settled with the joint pain the girl had developed over the days. It seemed as though she had no part of her body that was unaffected by her illness. Was it really as simple and mild as she had thought? A certain hotness stuck to Cecily's breath as she shifted her eyes towards the butler.

"S-she is not a person filled with much tact. I fear what words she would say of my a-appearance." She coughed weakly. Truly, the girl was not a sight to behold. Within only a few days, the unnoticed red streaks of flesh on her chest had spread under her arms and around her back. The streaks seemed to almost be blood the way they pulsed.

Even the girl's mouth was affected by her illness. Her tongue had become a bright pink interrupted only by a white collection of taste-buds near the center. The area around her lips was paler than usual, and all other parts of her face was highlighted by a thick red blush, it seemed. Cecily had become a mess.

The able butler strolled around the girl's bedside as he eyed her.

"W-What type of tea is this?" Cecily stared into the dark red liquid sitting in her tea cup. She had never tasted such an odd brew before. Perhaps it was foreign.

"It is an import from Africa, mistress. It is often used to bring down fevers, so I decided it best to serve it to you. Is it to your liking?" The butler still wore no expression to his face when facing her. No smirk of arrogance was stained to the thin lips ever since the symptoms the girl was experiencing started to further develop.

Cecily stared into her own evergreen eyes through the reflection of the liquid. Her eyes narrowed down.

"It isn't my fault, you know?" The girl glanced back up to the pair of pupils narrowing towards her. Her scowl deepened as she realized the immense hatred burning in the eyes of the demon.

"I didn't do this! I'm not like this because I want to be!" The cup in her hand fell to stain her bed cloth. She threw her hands into the air in protest.

"I didn't want to have my family killed in front of me! I didn't want to lose the only person capable of giving me happiness! I didn't want to make a contract that I grew to hate myself for!" A burning of tears came into the girl's eyes as her mind reflected to the fact of her own mortality. This illness was not going to go away. The harshness of her symptoms only grew with each day. Just how much longer did she have on this world?

"I most certainly did not want all the things that were given to me, yet you look to me as if I did them all out of selfishness resting in my heart! I did not! I did noth-" Another choking cough cut the girl off as she retched forward. A thick trail of blood spewed from her mouth to the mix of tea stained onto her bed cloth. The girl crumbled forward with no true care for the liquids. A sob shook her body as she curled into herself.

"Am I supposed to be sorry for not completing my side of the contract..? Please, tell me..."

The demon stared down to the girl with the silent hatred still sitting in his eyes.

"Your life is growing weaker, so tell me what I shall do?" He grabbed the face of the girl with a single hand. The melancholy eyes he forced to stare into his hinted of no happiness of the loophole she had found in the deal.

"Shall I just devour you now before it disappears completely? Or shall I let you see a hint of heavenly happiness before snatching you away? Dying like this, mistress, it is unforgivable when in a demon's contract." He narrowed his eyes.

"Tell me, how _am _I supposed to deal with a waste of my time and energy?"

Cecily had no answer to the question weighing on her mind.

Was she supposed to be happy? If she somehow died at this moment, he may not be able to take away her chance at eternity. She would be free, if only in death. Was that the way she wanted to go?

No, she wanted to live. Of course she did. Living to the next day was the only driving force that caused her to make the contract. She wanted to live, so she threw away her only chance a meaningful afterlife. Did everyone feel that way? Did they all throw themselves into unwanted or wasteful things just to survive in a world they hated? How was that a way to live?

The butler shook his head.

"You shall not die, not on my watch. As your butler, I cannot allow such unhappiness to dwell in your heart." He removed the tea set from the girl's lap as he withdrew.

"You mean as the owner of my life, don't you?"

The demon stopped for only a moment to smirk back to the girl.

"I mean as the owner of your soul."


	9. Chapter 9

"She was afraid of your actions should she die before the completion of the contract." Ciel stared towards the black-clad man standing in front of his desk. The butler nodded to agree with the rather dark words.

"Yes. She seemed to have it ingrained into her mind that her sickness was her fault and that I was displeased with it." Sebastian glanced around without interest. His eyes settled to an unsightly speck of dirt sitting on a nearby bookshelf.  
"In truth, I was growing rather unpleased with the quality of the girl."

Ciel took a smile in finishing the butler's sentence.

"In other words, her acceptance in death and lack of wanting to avenge her brother was unappetizing to you? Who knew demons had such complicated pallets. Almost like children." The boy teased. He had to agree, though. If the girl had no intention of completing the contract, she was not worthy in his mind. Did keeping promises not come easily to her?

"You had spoken of her like a flash of lightning. What rubbish was that?" Had Ciel remembered the rather annoying phrase wrong, or had the man truly spoken to his previous master so disrespectfully? Demon or not, the words seemed rather unprofessional.

Sebastian smiled at the thought.

"Ah, yes, I do remember that. She was indeed a flash of lightning. She appeared and disappeared far faster than the noise of her indecisive existence rang out. Perhaps far too fast for me to truly even realize." The butler lamented for only a moment before returning to his story.


	10. Chapter 10

The only sound waving through the room was as faint as the wind streaming in from a nearby window. It was the sound of a girl holding onto every painful breath as if it were her last. Even as the world shook and colors merged with one another, one piece of the scene never waved for the girl.

The butler sitting patiently at the bedside of the girl never strayed far from her side.

The evergreen eyes staring towards the butler blinked slowly.

"Why... Why are you.. Still here?" It was so very obvious that she was clinging to a life that had long run out. The infection from her amputated leg made the girl susceptible to the illness without a name that had claimed so many others before her. Practically no children had survived the reddening illness, the adults escaping the cold rotten clutches with loss of hearing or sight.

In other words, the girl had been dead since the night her brother had been killed.

Almost funny if it weren't so sad.

The butler dipped a cloth into the nearby bucket of water. He placed the damp piece of clothing onto the girl's red forehead with no expression.

"You are still my mistress no matter the illness you may have. It is my duty as your butler to tend to you." The demon returned back to the wooden seat he had brought to the bedside.

Cecily glanced over to the only clear part of the room.

"Did you.. Bring what I asked you to..?" She asked weakly.

The demon nodded as he brought the slip of paper from his pocket. He unfolded it and smoothed the various creases now present. His mouth opened to recite the words, the girl closing her eyes to imagine the scene once more.

" 'The man drifted in darkness for so long that time itself began to fade. The overwhelming black that surrounded him seemed as though it could drive him crazy. Maybe it was his hell, he thought. It was payment back for the disappointment he had been to the family he had loved so dearly. He would be forever left alone in this swallowing darkness to recollect his misdeeds. But, just as the man had given up hope, a light cut through the darkness. He stared to this shimmering and warm light and saw two figures emerging from it. There was a medium sized silhouette as well as a small one. For a last time, smiling, the man thought, he was wrong. This must be his heaven.' There's a note at the bottom of this page." The butler brought the paper closer to his face to read the slightly smaller note.

Cecily listened with bated breath for the ending her brother had never fully read.

The butler cleared his throat.

_Dear Cecily, _

_I know you had always loved this story dearly. Even through tears, you told me how beautiful it was, but I never thought you truly knew why I had read it to you. _

_ All of us make choices throughout our long lives. They may not be the best or even the smartest, but it does not change the fact that we are the people who made these choices for ourselves. We were not directed by others or dictated into what they may think is right. That is why every choice anyone can make is always beautiful and free. Just as a bird. No matter the choices you make through your life, whether they be against me or against yourself, remember that the choice you made was by your own free will. That is why you always have the power to make it better than it was before. That is what I tried teaching you in this story. A choice towards a de__ad-end may not allows house a wall made of stone. _

_ Derrick_

Whether the liquid gathering in Cecily's eyes was tears or blood, she did not know. Perhaps the girl did not care. The words her brother had written in the letter meant more than she could express.

_I wish I could have lived to read those words everyday of my life, Derrick. Truly, I wish you could have told me them yourself, but... _

The demon folded the scrap of paper held in his hands. His eyes skidded over towards the girl.

"Free will is the very foundation of human history, is it not? Adam and Eve, the very inception of freedom began with a choice against a god requiring absolute submission from his subjects." The demon closed his eyes to reflect to the past.

"It is that very free will that makes all able to pursue any happiness or goal they may have in their life. The man's choice, though it may have been neglectful and lethargic, eventually led to his reunion with his family. Who is to say that a rash decision is truly harmful if it leads to a desired consequence?" The butler stood from his seat.

_A figure stands in the distance. He's reaching out a hand to me. _A numbing cold overcame Cecily's body as her dull evergreen eyes stared towards the distance. The incoming figure that seemed so familiar extended a large hand towards her.

_Derrick? Is that..? _

The demon kept his eyes pointed towards the fading life in Cecily's body. The light of her soul faded to a dull lifeless corpse, yet one fact remained the same throughout the decline.

The happy smile facing away from him never left her.

* * *

_ Perhaps I __had given that girl far too much respect than she deserves__. _The curling of petals upon the silver rose bush reflected in the faded blue eyes the boy wore. He stared to the fleeting white for several seconds in silent reflection. His thin line of a mouth dared not to open even as a morning breeze whipped through his coat.

Ciel gripped his cane just a tad tighter as his eyes trailed down to the dirt just peeking through the thorns.

_No doubt, that girl is smiling at the __truly human way__ she had __in __escaping her fate. __Does that make me abnormal? Does it make me a monster for looking down on her yearning for her mistreatment to go unpunished?_

The boy closed his eyes.

"However, her escape is not something I could easily do." The Earl mumbled to himself. His eyes flickered towards his own shadow for just a moment. The Earl let a small smirk settle to his butler in a sort of barrier against his melancholy mood. He didn't need to let demon know just how much the story had distraught him.

Sebastian approached Ciel at a leisure pace reflecting the smirk held by the boy.

"Not that you would ever let me, though. Isn't that right, Sebastian?" Ciel dared to ask.

_The only escape from a demon's contract can be death. __Cecily knew this and accepted it with a whole heart. While her fate eluded the man, mine is no s__uch walk into the pearly white gates. I will be taken into the demon as he had taken so many in before. __There is no bargaining or begging. Only hell awaits those wishing to escape their humiliation or solitude. I am now one of those foolish few, yet I cannot say I regret my decision. A swift death after the humiliation I suffered would not have been enough. No, only blood and eternal burning is in my future. To be honest..._

The sway of the butler's tail coat was seen as the man knelt before his master. He placed a single hand over his chest as homage to the Earl he served. The smirk on Sebastian's lips when paired with his purple glowing eyes truly made the butler seem like a demon in that moment.

"Yes, My Lord."

_There could be no better end to the story. _


End file.
